This invention relates to fitments for containers from which liquid is intended to be withdrawn by a hollow needle or tube. The liquid may, for example, be an injection liquid which is to be injected by means of the needle.
Routine multiple injections are given by farmers to suppress the effects of intestinal and other parasitic worms in cattle, sheep and pigs and for other purposes. With such multiple injections it is not usual to sterilise the site of injection either before or after the injection, and the same needle is used to inject a large number of animals. Where the injection dose is withdrawn directly from a bottle containing injection liquid by inserting the needle into the bottle, the unsterilised needle may contaminate the liquid in the bottle. Thus, where a number of doses are withdrawn from the same bottle, there is a significant chance of the site of injection becoming infected leading to an abscess. Each time the animal is injected it increases the risk of rejection of the carcass for human consumption due to the presence of abscesses.
U.K. Patent Specification No. 2,091,229A describes and claims a fitment for a container from which liquid is intended to be withdrawn by inserting a hollow needle or tube into the container, the fitment being in the form of a cap including a closed chamber within which sterilising means are disposed and means for attaching the cap to the container such that the needle or tube may be passed through the chamber in the cap in order to withdraw liquid from the container and the needle or tube is sterilised by the sterilising means as it passes through the chamber. Such a fitment serves to prevent contamination of the liquid in the container by the needle.
It is an object of this invention to provide a generally improved fitment for a container from which liquid is intended to be withdrawn by inserting a hollow needle or tube into the container.